Koushun Takami - Battle Royale

Yuko hardly paid attention to this exchange as she took the wooden medical kit she found in the desk drawer. She placed it on the desk and opened it up. It was stuffed with various kinds of medical supplies, gauze, poultices. The only things missing were the bandages, since they were almost entirely used up to treat Shuya Nanahara.

Painkillers. Which one were the painkillers? Of course, it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter because—

“Wow, it smells great,” she heard Yuka say, trying to change the mood. But she hardly paid noticed to that either.

Painkillers… ah, here we go. Right here. For headaches, menstrual cramps, toothaches… Oh, come to think of it, my stomach’s been aching. I’ll take some later. After things settle down a little.

“So what is it?” Satomi asked Yukie in her slightly husky voice.

“What is it?” Haruka asked.

“Oh, right. Let’s see, where do I begin?” Yukie said.

It was only when Yuka said, “Let’s have a taste then,” that Yuko suddenly looked up.

She turned around and saw Yuka lift the dish and put it against her mouth. She should have used the ladle if she wanted a taste. Instead she had to put her mouth against that dish, the one she’d sprinkled with the half-transparent powder.

Yuko turned pale. She was about to raise her voice, but it happened too fast.

Yuka dropped the dish and the stew splashed against the floor with a crashing sound. Everyone looked over at her.

Yuka held onto her throat and coughed out the stew she had just swallowed. Then she coughed more violently onto the white table. Now the substance was bright red. The red splattered out in a circle against the white table and resembled the national flag of the Republic of Greater East Asia. And then she crashed onto the floor covered with stew.

“Yuka!”

Everyone—besides Yuko, who was speechless—cried out and ran to Yuka.

Yuka balled up on her side and coughed up blood again. Her tan face became more and more pale. Red foam spilled out the side of her mouth.

“Yuka! Yuka! What happened!?”

Yukie shook her body, but the dark-red foam only continued to spill out the side of her mouth. Her eyes were open as wide as possible, as if on the verge of popping out, but now even the whites of her eyes were turning red. For some reason—inflammation or broken capillaries—dark-red and black spots began appearing all over her blue face, transforming it into the mask of some grotesque monster.

But besides this, there was something else that was indisputable. It was obvious. Yuka had stopped breathing. Everyone fell silent. Yukie’s trembling hand touched Yuka’s throat. She said, “She’s dead.”

Behind Yukie, who crouched down beside Yuka and Haruka, Yuko stood still, her face completely pale.

She was shaking. (Of course it was very possible the other four were also in the same state.)

Oh, how could… how could this… this is all a mistake… mistake… how could… you only had a mouthful… how could it be this strong… I didn’t… this is a mistake… I killed her… by mistake… it was a mistake… I didn’t mean to… I wanted to get rid of—

“It couldn’t have been from food poisoning… could it?” Yukie continued, her voice trembling.

Chisato responded, “I… just tasted it. Nothing happened… this… this… could this be…”

Haruka followed up, “Poison?”

That sparked it off. Everyone (to be more accurate, it was everyone besides Yuko, but the other four didn’t realize this) looked at each other.

There was a thump. Satomi Noda had grabbed the Uzi and was now aiming it at the others. The other four, including Yuko, reflexively moved to the side or backed away from Yuka’s corpse.

Satomi screamed. Her eyes behind her glasses were wide open with fear. “Who!? Who did it!? Who poisoned this stew! Who’s the one trying to kill us!?”

“Stop it!” Yukie yelled.

Yuko saw her hand reach for the gun (Browning High Power 9mm. This was Yukie’s supplied weapon and because she was the team leader she held onto it) tucked in the back of her skirt. Yukie was about to move forward but stopped and stepped back. “Put your gun down. That can’t be.”

“Oh yes it can,” Satomi shook her head. Satomi who always seemed so calm had completely lost control. “The last announcement said there were only fourteen of us left. It’s getting down to the wire. So our enemy’s finally rearing its ugly head.” Then she looked over at Haruka and said, “You were the one cooking.”

Haruka shook her head violently. “I wasn’t the only one. Chisato also—”

“That’s horrible,” Chisato said. “I would never do such a horrible thing! Besides…” She seemed to hesitate, but then she said, “Satomi and Yuko also had plenty of chances to poison the food.”

“That’s right,” Haruka turned back to Satomi, then hissed at her, “Aren’t you getting a little too upset?”

“Haruka!” Yukie stopped her, but it was too late. Satomi was now completely upset.

“What was that?”

“That’s right,” Haruka continued, “First of all, you’ve hardly slept. I know. When I got up in the middle of the night, you were up. Doesn’t that mean you don’t trust us? That’s proof, right there!”

“Please, stop it, Haruka!” Yukie pleaded. She was nearly shrieking now. “Satomi! Put down the gun!”

“Oh, please.” Satomi pointed the Uzi at Yukie now. “Stop pretending you’re the leader. So this is the act you put on after your plan to poison everyone goes awry? Is that it?”

“Satomi,” Yukie said desperately.

Yuko raised her hand up to her mouth and stepped back in a daze. Her body was numb from the sudden turn of events. But she had to say it, she had to explain the truth, or else this… something terrible was going to happen.

Suddenly, Chisato moved to the side table against the wall on the right side of the sink. There was the remaining gun—a Czechoslovakian CZ75. (It was in fact Yuka’s weapon.)

The rattling sound echoed through the room. Chisato was shot in the back three times as she crashed against the side table, slid down, clutched onto its edge, and fell face forward onto the floor. There was no need to check. She was dead.

“Satomi! What are you doing!?” Yukie’s eyes opened wide as she screamed. Her voice was breaking.

“Oh, please.” Satomi held her smoking Uzi and glared at Yukie. “She went for the gun. Because she was guilty.”

“So did you though!” Haruka screamed. “Yukie! Shoot Satomi!”

With a clicking sound, Satomi pointed the Uzi at Haruka. Her face darkened. She seemed ready to shoot Haruka at any moment.

Yukie looked anguished. At that moment she had her hand on the Browning in the back of her skirt. After hesitating, she must have intended to shoot Satomi’s arm or some other part of her body.

Satomi then quickly shifted the Uzi and fired at Yukie.

Yukie was blown back with the rattling sound. Blood burst out of the holes in her chest and she fell backwards.

Haruka stood still for only a moment and then made a dash for the Browning Yukie had dropped. Satomi’s Uzi followed her body and burst out, blowing off Haruka’s side along with the fabric of her uniform. Her body slid against the floor.

The table was in between them now. Satomi pointed the Uzi at Yuko. She said, “What about you? You’re different, right?”

Yuko could only tremble. As she trembled, her eyes were fixed on Satomi’s face.

There was a pop. There was a hole on the left side of Satomi’s forehead. She opened her mouth… and looked down at her left hand. Blood burst out of the hole in her forehead, splashing against the inside of her glasses. Then it continued to drip downward.